Practice Director, Data - US-Based

Job Summary:

Toptal is an innovative organization that is disrupting the global professional services and talent market. In response to our clients’ overwhelming demand for exceptional talent in new areas, we are expanding the breadth and depth of our Technology Services offerings to further fuel that growth. As Toptal’s Data Practice Director, you will set the vision, own the P&L, and drive the growth of our Data Services practice, with a focus on data strategy, governance, architecture, analytics, business intelligence (BI), and data engineering. You will lead offering development, refine the go-to-market strategy, and ensure that our services remain at the forefront of industry trends.

This leader will be a proven expert in data and analytics services with deep cross-industry insight. The ideal candidate for this position will have served in a leadership role in the data & analytics services industry. You will determine what services to build, how to price and package them, and how to position our value proposition to meet client needs today and in the future.

This is a remote position. However, we require applicants and the person in this position to reside in-market. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities:

The following information is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or required skills.

You will be responsible for building and scaling Toptal’s Data practice. This includes:

·        Strategy: Identify target clients, their data challenges, and the market opportunities we can address.

·        Offering Development: Build scalable, innovative data services and solutions (e.g., enterprise data architecture, analytics transformation programs, BI dashboards, data governance frameworks).

·        Go-to-Market: Launch offerings, establish product–market fit with early clients, and scale through enablement of the sales organization and close collaboration with practice operations.

·        Marketing & Thought Leadership: Develop campaigns and publish insights to promote our expertise in data analytics, attract top talent, and generate qualified leads.

·        Sales Support: Equip the salesforce with tools and training to sell data services effectively; personally lead strategic client conversations.

·        P&L Ownership: Manage financial performance with a focus on revenue growth and profitability.

·        Talent Network Development: Ensure our network has the right data talent — engineers, architects, analysts — to deliver on client needs.

·        This role is highly collaborative and will work extremely closely with Toptal’s Marketing, Sales, and Talent Operations teams to fulfill the above responsibilities.

·        Accomplish work objectives through leading and supervising other Toptal team members within the Data Practice.

·        Establish objectives and initiatives for the team, recommend the team’s structure and jobs, and organize, assign, delegate, oversee, and monitor work.

·        Coach and mentor team members, provide feedback, conduct performance reviews, and implement performance improvement plans, if needed.

In the first week, expect to:

·        Onboard and integrate into Toptal; meet your colleagues.

·        Learn about Toptal’s history, culture, and vision, with a focus on the state of our industry, the Future of Work, and the core messages important to Toptal.

·        Shadow critical teams throughout the organization to learn Toptal’s core operations and capabilities.

In the first month, expect to:

·        Begin developing relationships with key leaders and stakeholders across the organization.

·        Dive deeper into the operations of key teams (e.g., Sales, Talent Operations) across the company.

·        Conduct a comprehensive review of the current demand in your practice area, the talent that exists already in the network, and any work we may already be doing or have done.

·        Articulate a hypothesis about where you want to take the practice (strategy) and design experiments and build execution approaches to get there.

In the first three months, expect to:

·        Be a well-integrated member of the organization with positive relationships in Sales (Enterprise and SMB), Marketing, and Talent Operations.

·        Be in front of clients on a regular basis to hear from them firsthand, while exercising discretion and independent judgment.

·        Understand market demand, assess Toptal’s current data capabilities, review Data Practice’s current offerings, and finalize the Data Practice strategy. Build pipeline momentum.

In the first six months, expect to:

·        Be the go-to expert for your practice within Toptal.

·        Establish initial traction with client wins and thought leadership presence.

·        See a commercial impact from your involvement in early initiatives.

In the first year, expect to:

·        Grow the Data practice into a recognized leader for enterprise-grade data solutions.

·        Feel like you made the best decision of your career.

·        Increase the growth rate of Toptal materially.

Qualifications and Job Requirements:

·        Bachelor’s degree is required.

·        MBA a plus.

·        15+ years of experience focusing on data & analytics, with 5+ in a leadership capacity.

·        Strong knowledge of data governance, architecture, engineering, BI tools, and analytics frameworks.

·        P&L management experience in a services organization.

·        Familiarity with SQL, ETL tools, cloud data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Azure Synapse, Redshift), and modern BI tools.

·        Proven experience in packaging/pricing enterprise data solutions.

·        Exceptional leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.

·        Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

·        Ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.

·        You must be a world-class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.

Essential Job Functions

·        Regularly and reliably attend scheduled virtual team meetings on camera.

·        Work independently with minimal supervision.

·        Use all required digital collaboration tools.

·        Prioritize and self-manage workflows and deadlines.

US FLSA Classification: Full-Time/Exempt